


Trouble

by DGCatAniSiri



Series: Secrets-verse [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 18:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1828162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DGCatAniSiri/pseuds/DGCatAniSiri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel knows that Puck is only going to break Finn's heart. Best to just get the pain out of the way as soon as possible, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trouble

_Go on_  
Go on  
Leave me breathless  
Come on 

_The daylight’s fading slowly_  
But time with you is standing still  
I’m waiting for you only  
The slightest touch and I feel weak 

Rachel Berry liked the spotlight. No, actually, she LOVED the spotlight. She wanted it, craved it, needed it. All eyes should be on her. And she knew that it was part of what kept her from having friends and boyfriends. She just couldn’t help herself, even when she knew that she was wrong, she still fought for keeping the spotlight. Or at least managing to keep people focused on her. It was just who she was.

Which is why it bothered her that when Finn sang at her, she knew that he was really singing to someone else. Namely Puck. She could see him looking just past her to the mohawked football player. Shue always seemed to put Puck behind Rachel, just where Finn could catch sight of him, and she knew that Finn’s eyes would wander towards his boyfriend, especially during lines about touching and loving and squeezing. 

Rachel didn’t like the fact that her partner on stage was busy looking at someone else performing with them. It hadn’t been noticeable when he’d been dating Quinn, probably because of how whatever feelings he had weren’t mutual on the Cheerio’s part. Guys may be dense, but some part of them could tell when their feelings weren’t returned.

Of course, Rachel did have to wonder why Finn couldn’t tell it with Puck right now. Sure, Puck had made out with him in front of the school, but he was still PUCK. It was inevitable that Puck would break Finn’s heart as surely as Quinn had, yet Finn seemed naïve enough to act like he and Puck were going to be together forever. Rachel had been with Puck for a time herself, she had an understanding of what he was like. And there was how he had spent time babysitting with Quinn and had gone and sexted with Santana while he was there. Even if he hadn’t done it yet, she knew from experience how difficult it was to change who you were, and she didn’t think Puck had the strength of will to resist the temptation to go out and cheat on Finn and break his heart. You can’t change your nature. That was the whole point of that old ‘scorpion and the frog’ story people kept telling, right?

_I cannot lie_  
From you I cannot hide  
I’m losing the will to try  
Can’t hide it  
Can’t fight it  
So... 

Although she wanted Finn to focus on her (and fall into her arms), she also had to admit that breaking the two of them up would be in Finn’s best interests. Puck was going to break his heart, she just knew it. That was why she was going to help Finn be free of Puck first and foremost. And it would be in the greater interests of Glee – better that they break up now, long before Sectionals, so the shockwaves will have passed by the time they have to go up against Vocal Adrenaline. It was for the greater good.

And if Finn were to come to her with a need for a shoulder to cry on, well, that’d just be a bonus.

***

Finn hated it when Rachel stared at him like that. He’d partially been hoping that with him and Puck now officially dating, Rachel would back off and be less crazy around him, acknowledging him as being completely unavailable to her as anything other than a friend, but it seemed it had had the opposite effect on her. Now she was pretty much actively terrifying. 

_Go on, go on_  
Come on, leave me breathless  
Tempt me, tease me  
Til I can’t deny this 

_Loving feeling_  
Make me long for your kiss  
Go on, go on  
Yeah, come on 

Finn could also see that Puck was aware of her change in attitude. Puck was definitely the jealous sort, and Finn knew that if Rachel kept up her ‘gotta have Finn’ act, she was likely to face the wrath of Puck if she kept it up. Finn didn’t know how rough exactly Puck would get if he thought Rachel was still coming after Finn, but he knew that he didn’t want to find out.

He would admit that a part of him still felt something for Rachel. He also felt still felt something for Quinn. It wasn’t as if admitting that he loved Puck had somehow changed the fact that he’d loved girls in the past. He hadn’t started going gaga over every hot guy he met, though he had begun noticing the guys around him a lot more than he had before and the girls less. But when he was alone, it was always Puck that came to mind. He loved Puck. 

_And if there’s no tomorrow_  
And all we have is here and now  
I’m happy just to have you  
You’re all the love I need somehow 

Puck shot Rachel a dirty look as she moved close to Finn, which caused Finn to flash him an apologetic glance. Mr. Schuester saw all of this and, after a momentary face-palm, had the band stop.

***

_If those kids think they’re being subtle, them being obvious must feel like being repeatedly smacked with a 27-ton anvil,_ Shue thought.

“Guys, guys... All right, you’ve got the song and the choreography. Why don’t we call it a night? Finn, Rachel, Puck? Can I speak to you?” he said. 

There was the typical gossip mill starting as the others left the room. Shue looked to the three of them. Finn shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of the teacher, Rachel was now giving Shue the glare of death, as if she thought he was deliberately and unfairly singling her out again, and Puck, who obviously felt this was another ‘Puck’s done something wrong’ lecture, rolled his eyes and looked bored.

“Guys, I can’t have the three of you doing this back and forth thing during a performance. I notice it, which means the judges will. The judges don’t know you, don’t care about you as individuals, and will just see that three of our performers, two of them taking the lead on this song, are busy having a war between one another instead of focusing on the song and the performance. Get your heads in the game and get your issues worked out. If you do this during another practice, I’m going to have to send you to talk with Em- Miss Pillsbury.” Despite Shue and Miss Pillsbury not being a secret, Shue insisted on referring to her professionally while on the job. 

His lecture given, Shue stepped back and headed for his office. Puck grabbed Finn’s arm possessively and headed for the door. Rachel glared after them. Shue, his back safely turned, indulged an eye roll and began phrasing his request that Emma intervene. 

***

Finn and Puck were as well wedged on Finn’s bed as they could be. Finn’s mom had adamantly refused to buy a larger bed for Finn now that he was dating his best friend. She seemed to believe it would keep them from having sex. She clearly didn’t know where they’d done it first. Or maybe she did, since she insisted that they keep the door open when Puck was over.

Puck grinned as he caught Finn’s lips in a powerful kiss. If he was honest with himself, kissing Finn was better than kissing all the girls he’d been with combined. If anyone called him queer because of it, though, he’d kick their ass. 

When he pulled back to breathe, his grin got larger as he stared at the blissful look on Finn’s face. He knew Finn couldn’t get enough of his body, but Puck couldn’t get enough of Finn’s smile. After the whole baby thing, he’d been so sure he’d never see Finn smile at him again. Okay, dude. That was a little gay. 

Finn’s smile turned to a smirk. “We don’t start playing some Halo, Mom’s probably gonna come up here and make sure we aren’t having sex.”

Puck’s shrug was unapologetic. “And?”

Finn shook his head, the smile not leaving. “You like coming over here, don’t you?” Okay, from that perspective... Reluctantly, Puck let go of Finn, who intentionally reached across Puck for the controllers and turned on the Xbox.

After about thirty minutes of gaming, Finn looked to his boyfriend. “So, about the Rachel thing...” Puck’s face instantly darkened. “Look, Shue wanted us to get it figured out. We oughta get it figured out.”

“What’s there to figure? She’s a crazy bitch who wants to get her hands on you.”

“You think she has a chance?” Finn asked flirtatiously. He laughed at Puck’s irritated look and got a quick peck in. Puck decided to throw caution to the wind and risk Mrs. Hudson’s wrath and deepened it. He’d deal with Berry tomorrow. Right now, there was Finn.

***

The next practice involved Shue having them all find a song with a message that they wanted to express. Rachel already had an idea for what her message was. It was a warning for Finn about how Puck was going to break his heart and that he needed to wake up and realize it. She stood up to announce how she already knew what her song was and for the band to start playing when Shue told her to sit back down.

“Rachel, I don’t want to hear it until you’ve had that talk I asked you to have.” He left ‘with Finn and Puck’ unspoken, but she knew everyone had heard it. There were collective looks turned towards the trio, and for once, Rachel wished the spotlight wasn’t on her.

After practice, Shue motioned for the three of them to use his office for this, wanting to get it done and out of the way. Emma was already sitting in there, preferring the privacy of the Glee Club office rather than her own since it didn’t have the floor to ceiling windows, letting the whole world see in while she spoke with the students. Sometimes she wondered about why her office even HAD those giant windows – confidentiality was difficult to maintain when everyone knew you were talking to the counselor, soundproofed or not.

“Rachel, I understand that you’re having some difficulties accepting Finn and Noah’s relationship.”

“It’s not a difficulty, Miss Pillsbury. Honest. I have the utmost respect for my homosexual peers. My Dads are gay, after all.” Puck shot her a glare. How often did she bring that up? She should just get a t-shirt made already.

Miss Pillsbury didn’t quite manage to look irritated, but it seemed as if she was tired of hearing that line as well. “You may ‘respect’ other... couples like Finn and Noah,” she said, figuring Puck would have some irritation at being referred to as part of a gay or homosexual or same-sex couple, so she decided to avoid the words. “However, Mr. Shuester and I have noticed that you don’t seem very accepting of them specifically.”

“You’re throwing yourself at me while we’re singing,” Finn offered. Emma nodded, though she didn’t say anything on that.

She looked back to Rachel. “Rachel, your attitude says that you’re not accepting of them. I think it’s very important that you be honest with Finn and Noah and yourself.”

“I’m perfectly accepting!” Rachel proclaimed, rising. She couldn’t sit for more of this and had to get out. How could Miss Pillsbury say such things? She could accept gay couples. But Finn and Puck weren’t gay! They were just being confused by hormones. They’d gotten together in the midst of a fight about how Puck had betrayed Finn’s trust and had sex with his girlfriend, for crying out loud! What part of that said ‘lasting relationship’?

“Rachel-” Miss Pillsbury started, but Rachel was out the door before she could get any further.

Puck scoffed. “Told you she’d walk outta here like that.”

***

Rachel glanced around the McKinley halls until she found who she was looking for. She followed Santana towards the bathroom. “Santana?” she called out. 

The Cheerio paused and turned towards her, glaring. “What are you doing talking to me? Just because we’re both in Glee-”

“I just want five minutes of your time.” 

Santana glared at her, weighing her options. Ultimately, she gave in. “Two.” She shoved open the bathroom door and Rachel followed her. The Cheerio stopped in front of the sink. Realizing that there were two others girls in the room, she merely fired a glare at them and they cleared out. Then she looked to Rachel. “Start.”

“I’m sure that you’re still upset at Puck for dumping you and then starting to date Finn. And I know that Puck’s just going to hurt him, which I don’t want. Therefore, I propose we try to get them to realize what is going to happen to them. And the sooner the better, because you know that when it does happen, it’s going to knock Finn off his game. You admitted yourself that Glee is the best part of your day, and if Finn’s off his game at Regionals, we’re going to lose and Principal Figgins is going to cut all the funding for the club and then there won’t be any more Glee. Do you really want that? So I believe it’s not only in our best interests but in the best interests of Glee Club as a whole that we break them up now while we can still patch Finn back together in time for Regionals.”

Santana had to spend a few seconds digesting her babble. True, she didn’t exactly like that Puck had dumped her for Finn, but it wasn’t as if she was out a real boyfriend, just a standard fallback when she was feeling an itch. Then again, there were a couple of rumors going around that she and Quinn were turning the guys in this school gay, and, now that Santana’s position on the food chain was going up, she couldn’t let that happen. Sure, the losers could say things like that and no one would notice, but it was jocks and her fellow Cheerios. THAT could not be allowed. Something had to be done, and she didn’t quite have the authority among the school she needed to threaten stock drop if they kept it up – yet.

Reluctantly, Santana sighed, admitting defeat. “Fine. I’m in. Do you have a plan?”

***

Kurt and Mercedes had, over the past few weeks, come to the conclusion that the McKinley High Glee Club needed opportunities to bond and become friends outside of Glee and school, instead of just a bunch of students tied together by the club. Something to do with how it had been because of the friendship and loyalty for one another that they’d won at Sectionals. So now they were arranging mini-parties, exclusive for Glee members, every couple of weeks, alternating houses. This week, Kurt was hosting. 

It wasn’t surprising that somehow, some alcohol made it into the party. It was, all things considered, expected. So as the night went on, the Hummel house had twelve rambunctious and buzzed teenagers inside it in the basement. 

Santana reluctantly pressed herself to the wall Rachel was leaning against. “Okay. What exactly are you looking for here? You want me to sleep with him?”

Rachel blinked in surprise, not having expected Santana to go straight there. “Uh...”

Santana rolled her eyes, unsurprised that Rachel hadn’t considered that. “Puck responds to sex. You really think I can get him away from Finn without it? I’m good, but not that good.” Okay, maybe she COULD get Puck lured away from Finn without sex, but one, it would be easier this way, and two, it would be more fun this way. 

Rachel couldn’t see any other way around it. And there was the simple fact that she knew that Santana wasn’t a virgin. She probably didn’t even consider sex an important thing, just something done. “If... if you think it’s what you need to do.”

Santana glared at her. “Don’t wuss out now, Berry. You wanted them split up, this how it’s done.”

Reluctantly, Rachel nodded. Santana walked away, swaying her hips seductively as she approached Puck. Rachel moved to go find Finn. And she hoped he’d forgive her for what she had set in motion.

***

Puck was already slightly buzzed when Santana sauntered towards him. “Hey, Puck,” she said, flashing him a giant grin. If he hadn’t already had five glasses of the spiked punch (it was the only way to actually work up a buzz), he would have been on his guard – back when they’d been ‘dating,’ she’d never been that pleased to see him. But buzzed Puck just figured she was buzzed as well. 

He gave her a nod of acknowledgment, not particularly interested. Hummel’s parties were usually full of flash but for the most part pretty dull, and normally, he’d take any opportunity to accept a distraction. However, he couldn’t help but watch to make sure Kurt didn’t try and seduce Finn. Not that Puck was worried that Kurt would succeed – who in their right mind passed up PUCK, especially for some skinny, scrawny fashion-focused queen like Hummel? – but just as a matter of defending his boy. 

Santana pressed close to him, smiling flirtatiously. “Hey, Puck,” she repeated, her voice going husky with desire. Puck was paying attention now.

In the other room, the karaoke machine got plugged in and Mercedes jumped for the mike, dragging Matt with her and starting in on ‘Hate That I Love You.’ As they sang, Santana leaned in close to Puck.

“Wanna go... have some fun?” she asked, her voice getting husky as she flashed Puck a smile that was almost sincere.

Puck’s buzzed mind couldn’t quite understand why he should turn her down. Somewhere in the back of his mind, some voice was warning him that if he did anything with Santana, it would break Finn’s heart. The haze of alcohol and his hormones brought up how when Finn was pissed about Quinn, it had led to some of the hottest sex of his life – what else could have made Puckzilla switch over to the homo team? So if his best friend sleeping with his girlfriend got him angry, his boyfriend sleeping with Santana would probably get him angrier and that would lead to even hotter sex, right? The twisted logic made sense in his buzzed mind. “Sure,” he said, giving her the patented Noah-Puckerman-get-anyone-out-of-their-pants grin. Santana returned it and grabbed his hand, pulling him away.

Over the sounds of Mercedes and Matt’s duet (who knew Matt could be such a smooth crooner?) Finn looked around for Puck. He knew his boyfriend wasn’t much for the gentler side of PDA, but still, he figured he could get him to sneak off to the Hummel’s garage for some light-to-moderate making out. Hey, he’s a sixteen year old boy with all the hormones that implied. But having sex in someone else’s garage when they’d politely invited you over seemed... rude.

“Finn!” said a perky voice at his side. Finn winced as Rachel looped her arm into his. She either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it. “I was hoping we could talk.”

Finn wanted to tell her that unless it involved her apologizing and promising to back off, he wasn’t interested, but Rachel’s motor mouth was already at a hundred miles per hour and accelerating. “I know we’ve been somewhat at odds in regards to you and Puck, but I want to assure you that it has nothing to do with the fact that I had that silly crush on you and everything to do with the fact that Puck is going to break your heart.”

Finn couldn’t have been friends with Puck without knowing about his history (Puck practically prided himself on how he had conquered the hot female population of McKinley, plus at least half of their mothers and aunts). But Puck wouldn’t have kissed him in front of everyone at school if he didn’t have feelings for Finn, feelings that went deeper than friendship. He wouldn’t have done that in public if his feelings weren’t...

He saw Puck. Making out with Santana, his hand on her breast.

Finn stopped dead in his tracks. “Puck?” He choked on the name. Puck looked up and away from Santana. At the heartbroken look on Finn’s face, Puck instantly sobered. He backed away from Santana and started towards Finn, but Finn just turned around and headed upstairs. Puck followed him up while Santana looked to Rachel, seemingly pleased with herself.

But Rachel didn’t feel the same sense of success that she’d been expecting. Just the crushing realization that she just screwed up two people’s lives for her own benefit. The heartbreak on Finn’s face had been so apparent, Rachel had instantly realized just how great a mistake she had made. She’d got what she’d wanted, and damaged, maybe destroyed, Finn and Puck’s relationship. She’d ruined two peoples’ lives for her benefit. Didn’t she feel special.

“Enjoy the taste of victory, Berry,” Santana said with her trademark smirk. She sauntered off to get something to drink, leaving Rachel feeling nothing but the crush of defeat.

***

Finn was already out of the Hummel household by the time Puck caught up to him. “Finn!” Puck called, reaching for Finn’s arm. The instant his fingers brushed the other boy, Finn whirled on him.

“Don’t touch me!” he shouted, jerking his arm away from Puck’s hand. Puck reflexively pulled back. Finn wasn’t trying to be intimidating, but his height combined with his posture made Puck afraid. He could see the tears in Finn’s eyes, and the sight stopped him cold – Finn shouldn’t be crying. “Just... don’t touch me!”

Puck held up his hands, hoping he was making soothing and conciliatory gestures. “Finn. I...” Now that he was able to explain, he realized that he had no explanation other than drunken hormones. There was no way that Finn could forgive this. He didn’t say anything or try to explain himself, and Finn just walked off.

***

The next Glee practice was strained. Finn wasn’t looking at either Puck or Rachel, and she knew that this was all her fault. Their practice was incredibly strained and uncomfortable. Even Shue noted the new discomfort between the three. 

Shuester cut practice short, wanting to deal with this before it got out of hand. The others were dismissed, though most of them naturally waited outside the door, wanting to hear what was going on. Santana just rolled her eyes at the collection and walked off, Brittany following in her wake.

Will looked over the trio. Rachel looked miserable (and, indeed, she hadn’t even tried showing off today, which had been the moment that made him realize just how bad things must really be), Puck looked... well, the emotion was hard to pin down, just because ‘apologetic’ and ‘Noah Puckerman’ did not belong together, but that was the word that seemed to describe it best, and Finn was uncharacteristically closed off. 

“Guys, when I asked you to resolve your problems, I was hoping for something better than this.” He looked between the three of them.

Rachel finally cracked. She looked to Puck. “I’m sorry! I asked Santana to flirt with you-” She turned to Finn, “-so that you’d see that Puck would wind up breaking your heart, and it was supposed to just be to get the hurt out of the way now, instead of later, so it wouldn’t cause trouble when it finally happened and... I didn’t think about it.”

“You what?!” Puck roared, jumping to his feet. Rachel flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of what he’d do next.

Shuester jumped between them. “Hold it, Noah.” He turned to Rachel, looking as stern as he ever had. “Rachel, what on Earth possessed you to...?” He shook his head. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” He turned to Finn and Puck, wondering how much good this had done for them. 

By the looks of it, it didn’t make any difference for Finn. “Mr. Shue, I really need to get home.” Will tried to think of a way to clear the air between the trio, but couldn’t come up with anything. Reluctantly, he nodded and Finn grabbed his bag and headed for the door. Puck followed, though the look he gave Rachel as he went after Finn would have reduced her to a black stain on the floor if it could have.

Outside the door, the others scattered as they realized Finn was approaching. Finn didn’t pay any attention to them as he headed for the exit. Puck chased after him.

“Finn! You heard her! She asked Santana to-”

Finn whirled on Puck, his heartbreak from the previous night having transformed into pure raw anger. “I heard her. And you still went along with it. You didn’t stop. You swore that being with me... You’d be different. That’s why I... That’s what being public about us was supposed to be. You and me, together. Just us. You said you’d be different.” Finn laughed at himself. “I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess. You’re Puckzilla, king of badassery and ruler of jerkasses. Doesn’t do relationships, won’t stick to one girl. Why should I be any different?” Finn shook his head. “I’m not doing this, Puck. I told you, I wanted a relationship.”

“Yeah, and we’ve got one!” Puck said. He wasn’t exactly a master at turning a phrase.

Finn shook his head. “We HAD one, Puck. When you cheat on someone when you’re in a relationship, expect them to dump you because of it.” With that, he headed for the doors. 

Sensing that the explosion had occurred and that it was safe to emerge from behind their sandbags, the other Glee members began looking over the damage. 

Quinn was the first to approach Puck. “Puck, I...” She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off. 

“Whatever. Finn’s loss,” he muttered and stalked off in the opposite direction from Finn. 

Rachel watched this from the door to the practice room, and hated herself for what she’d done. And from the looks on the faces of the others, she wasn’t alone in that fact.


End file.
